However, finding the pearl yourself is very pleasant. This pearl can be a souvenir for a long memory …
If someone thinks that pearls are mined only in the equatorial seas, then this person is deeply mistaken. Until the middle of the 19th century, Russia was the main supplier of pearls to the world market.
Surprised? Maybe I'll start in order.
Pearls are of two types, sea and river. Generally speaking, pearls are quite common and very frequent. Only rare forms, rare colors and rare sizes are of value. Everything else is not worth a penny. However, finding the pearl yourself is very pleasant. This pearl can be a souvenir for a long memory or a good gift for a loved one.
Pearls usually form in the mantle of bivalve molluscs. Everyone probably remembers how it turns out. A grain of sand trapped in the mantle (in the folds of the body) of the mollusk irritates its flesh and therefore becomes covered with a layer of mother-of-pearl, smoothing out sharp corners. Every year the layer of mother-of-pearl becomes thicker and as a result, a tiny grain of sand turns into a pearl. The larger this pearl is in size and the closer to a perfectly round shape, the more expensive it is. Usually the color of the pearl is white-pearl, but there are exceptions and the color of the pearl can be black, pink, blue, greenish, etc. Pearls with unusual coloration are much more expensive than ordinary pearls of the same size and shape.
Bivalve molluscs are quite common in marine and freshwater bodies around the globe. So finding the pearl is not a problem. One problem is that in order for a pearl to be of a good size, it needs to mature in a shell for decades, and many river mollusks do not live that long, although they themselves are impressive in size and, therefore, there are no large pearls in these mollusks. Bivalve mollusks are long-livers, in which large pearls can ripen, regardless of their habitat (river, sea), and pearl mussels are called so.
For reference, pearls can form in any molluscs that have at least some kind of shell, and even very rarely, they appear on the scales of fish. These animals can also be long-lived and such pearls can be of enormous size. As an example, pearls from shells, "Tridaktny", living up to 500 years or more can be up to several kilograms of weight … Such pearls are more valuable as a curiosity and are usually not used for jewelry. Pearls in pearl oysters are usually irregular in shape, often adhered to the shell itself, despite their size and color, are also not suitable for jewelry. There are also artificial pearls, which are just as valuable as artificial black caviar or soy (artificial) meat. We will not talk about these fakes.
So, where to look?Pearl mussel shells are quite often found in clean northern and Siberian rivers and lakes, where fish such as grayling, taimen, trout and other salmon are found. These are rather large shells, often about the size of the brush of an adult male. These shells stand upright at the bottom in whole colonies. A mask is enough to collect as many such shells in warm water (in summer). In the 19th century in the Arkhangelsk province it was a custom to give a beloved bride-girl a handful of pearls on a necklace. There were no diving masks then, and pearl oysters were taken from the rafts with a stick with a split at the end. And they looked into the water through a special pipe made of birch bark. Likewise, pearls were mined for sale all over the world.
Clothes adorned or sewn with pearls were quite popular in their time, especially in Russia among fashionistas of the boyar and princely clan-tribe. Although kokoshniks with pearls and beads were also carried by simple courtyard peasant women. The predatory capture of pearl mussels ultimately undermined the population of these mollusks, and the pearl fishing in those days first stopped, and then it was forgotten. Almost two hundred years have passed and so far no one except the Chinese has resumed pearl mining. By the way, Chinese pearls are purely freshwater. I personally found up to 17 pearls of such irregular shape and relatively large size in one shell. This is not common, but not very rare either. Usually the pearl oyster itself containing pearls has an ugly shell, and a smooth and beautiful shell, respectively, turns out to be without pearls.
For those who are especially interested and who do not want to travel to the northern and even more so to the Siberian rivers, I can offer an alternative. Lovers of mussels and oysters can find small pearls in shells from the store. Such pearls are not suitable for beads by their size, but they are useful for decorating bracelets or as an insert into a ring. Pearls can also be found in scallops, but they do not exist in canned scallops.
It is better, of course, to look for pearls in the seas, where there are ebb and flow. At low tide, you can wander along the bare bottom and collect mussel and oyster shells in the remaining puddles. Along the way with Kamchatka crabs and other yummy. That is to say, combining pleasure with tasty and healthy. For example, in the Far Eastern seas at low tide, in the same puddles and crevices of stones, you can find hermit crabs, sea cones and Kamchatka crabs. Not very large in size, with a shell usually no larger than a tea saucer. And armed with a net or a stick with a table fork tied to it, you can get shrimps, flounder, small halibuts in these puddles, and if you are lucky, an octopus.
Right there on the shore, on a fire, all this yummy can be cooked.
